Sport can unite and help prevent moral degeneration of our youth
NELSON Mandela once said sport is the game of lovers. It has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, the power to unite people in a way that little else does.
Sport can create hope where there was once only despair. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.
On a grassroots level sport cannot only nurture ordinary youth to become future stars but it can keep children away from drugs and gangsterism. Sport can help to revive community moral regeneration. Communities are riddled by many social ills.
Many youths have shown a will to unlearn delinquent lifestyles but have cited lack of recreational facilities as a drawback and this is detrimental to their socially desirable development.
The facility will reignite a zeal from the youth of Devon to dream big. With the recent handover of the refurbished multi-purpose sports complex to the Impumelelo community in Devon by the executive mayor of the Lesedi Local Municipality, it is heartwarming to see that government has identified sports as a vehicle to achieve social cohesion among communities as well as nurturing talent at grassroots level.
The renovation was co-funded by Lesedi Local Municipality and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform with the aim of contributing towards the development of sports in Devon.
The department through its Rural Infrastructure Development unit contributed over R7 million to the project.
The department is fulfilling a broader mandate of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme which seeks to address issues of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, food security, lack of proper health facilities and recreational amenities, particularly in rural areas.
The handover has not only brought a glimmer of hope to the youth of the Impumelelo settlement in Devon but the exercise has demonstrated the importance of collaboration in developing communities. particularly in the rural areas.
THEMBA MZULA HLEKO Rosslyn Gardens, Pretoria